A Most Unusual Dwarf

[Lobelia]

Originally Posted by eowyntje

...looking at the Lotr itself, I'd say it is very likely that Gimli was no ordinary dwarf, for the simple reason that all members o the fellowship were different from their own race in a way.
All 4 the hobbits were more adventurous then normal hobbits, Aragorn is nothing like normal humans, Boromir represents the humans weak side, but is nothing like the other humans describred in Lotr. Gandalf turns out to be no ordinary wizard, and as for legolas, he's quite normal in the beginning but changes when he befriends with a dwarf.

Nice thought, very true - they were all different from other members of their races - mind you, I don't think there were any "ordinary" wizards! I think that any growth on Gimli's part is posible because he was, from the beginning, very unlike the dwarves in TH. Gloin at Rivendell had grown from the Gloin in TH. And more - the dwarves who sent Sauron's representative packing were very brave and not at all greedy for gold. I think of dwarves in general as brave and feisty like Gimli the orc-killer! I suspect the ones in the HOME books are more like the ones in Norse myth and not to be compared with our lovely Gimli.